Tuesday, January 16, 2007 3 foreigners cheat death in chopper mishap off Palawan
A HELICOPTER chartered by three Japanese nationals crashed off the waters of resort town of El Nido in Palawan last Sunday afternoon.
Navy Captain Alberto Araojo, who heads the Navy's Task Force Malampaya, said the Japanese nationals escaped unscathed the incident as they jumped off the aircraft as it was losing altitude.
The identities of the three Japanese men were unavailable as of presstime.
The pilot of the ill-fated helicopter owned by the Eurocopter Company, identified as Butch Soriano, also jumped off after failing to regain control of the aircraft.
Araojo said the Japanese nationals were going to conduct an aerial survey of Palawan and take a video footage of the area to promote local tourism and study prospective business opportunities when the incident happened.
Investigators from the Air Transportation Office (ATO) were still investigating the exact cause of the incident. However, Araojo theorized that the crash could have been caused by mechanical trouble. (VR/Sunnex)
